I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Amber stayed close to Duke, watching Annie warily, afraid that this yandere rival might do something irrational to Duke. As for Annie, she naturally wouldn't back down to Amber. Although Amber was Duke's official girlfriend, Annie wasn't a normal person and didn't care about such worldly norms.

As the saying goes, if you swing your hoe well, no wall will fall.

She's just a girlfriend, right? Give me a chance, and I'll sleep with Duke in no time.

"Hmph!" Annie gave Amber a provocative look, then continued excitedly, "Are we going to make a scene here? Do I need to instigate my 'father' to rebel? I'm 70% sure I can succeed; he seems to have wanted to rebel for a long time."

“No rush, we’ll have to see the Duke to be sure.” Duke shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the silent standoff between Amber and Anne, preoccupied with finding a way to break the deadlock. “By the way, Anne is the Duke’s daughter, Joan is a bard, and a memory has flooded my mind… In the dream, I seemed to be a rather famous adventurer. So, Amber, what about you? What was your identity in the dream?”

"Me?" Amber tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and retrieved reliable information from her scattered memories, which resembled watching a movie. She said hesitantly, "I think I'm a princess."

"what?"

Everyone was slightly taken aback. Then the door to the reception room opened, and the Duke and his wife walked in. The first thing they saw was Amber, and they exclaimed in shock:

"Your Highness, what are you doing here?!"

Chapter 165 Beware of Fury Control

"Your Highness, what are you doing here?!"

Upon hearing the Duke's alarmed words, Amber instinctively stopped straightening up. The lewd elf who was usually so focused on her notebook suddenly disappeared, and her temperament changed abruptly. Her posture, the curves of her body, the perfect expressions of her eyes and mouth... all these details of elegance that seeped into her bones were simply effortless for Amber.

Amber, with her elegant bow, appeared to the Duke and Duchess as a noble princess as they entered the room.

Although the memories implanted in Duke and others by the dream setting became very fragmented memories under the protection of Eve's pre-set wish and blessing, in Duke's words, "it didn't feel like a personal experience, it felt like watching a first-person movie." Watching a movie naturally cannot change a person's various habits or personality.

If someone else were to play the role of this princess, such as Joan or Rose, they probably wouldn't be able to perform well. But Amber is different—she is a true princess of the Elf Kingdom, so she is simply playing herself.

As an old Elven royal of the Plain Oak Banner, Amber received a noble education from a young age that was far more sophisticated than that of this unsophisticated worldly resident who had conjured up a medieval princess in his dreams. Only minor adjustments based on memory were needed, which was naturally a piece of cake for Amber.

"Can't this princess come, Lord Geraint?" Amber chuckled, painstakingly tracing the duke's name from her memory, then sighed, "Alas, I didn't expect Lord Geraint to dislike me so much. I should have known better than to come."

"Not at all, we are certainly delighted that Princess Amber is coming." Geraint smiled somewhat awkwardly and said with a forced smile, "We just didn't think of it at the time. If Your Highness had informed me earlier, we would have been able to make adequate preparations."

"I'm just here to visit my girlfriends. I don't really like this formality." Amber grinned and moved closer to Annie. Clearly, her girlfriends referred to her biggest rival in love. In front of Duke Geraint, she couldn't really start a fight with Annie—but secretly pinching her waist was still an option, right? "Uncle Geraint, are you going to kick me out?"

As she spoke, Amber looked at Geraint with teary eyes, not only using a more affectionate term of address but also softening her tone, as if she was afraid that Geraint would drive them away. Looking at her pitiful appearance, no one would guess that Amber was fighting with Annie behind her back.

As expected, the prettier the woman, the more likely she is to deceive people. Zhang Wuji's mother was right!

Although Geraint had long harbored rebellious intentions and was ready to seize the throne of that kingdom at any time, he still couldn't bear to break off relations with such an adorable little girl as Amber. He coughed and said, "Of course not, Your Highness. How could I possibly drive you away? By the way, Annie, didn't you say you wanted to introduce me to a warrior?"

He awkwardly changed the subject, finally focusing his attention on the only person in the room he had never seen before.

“Hello, Duke Geraint,” Duke finally spoke. “My name is Duke, and I am an adventurer.”

While Amber and Geraint were arguing, Duke had been pondering something, and now he has finally come to an answer.

“Adventurer Duke? I’ve heard of you.” Geraint raised an eyebrow in surprise and said somewhat strangely, “I didn’t expect that the dragon rider Duke would actually come to my territory.”

Dragon Knight?

Duke was slightly taken aback. He had only glanced through his memories before... Wasn't he a famous adventurer? How come he had also done such a cool job as a dragon knight?

He quickly reviewed the memories that this dream had stuffed into his head, and after about ten seconds, Duke confirmed that he was not a dragon knight, but a dragon "rider"—he had ridden a dragon girl.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

It can be said that his fame as an adventurer is not only due to the large number of difficult adventure missions he has completed (after all, there are many excellent and powerful adventurers, and Duke's strength is actually not that great), but also because of his romantic affairs... From a certain perspective, Duke is playing himself.

Of course, this hardcore guy is much more ruthless than Duke. After all, Duke at most seduces witches and occasionally pulls off the high-level maneuver of juggling five women at once, while this hardcore guy's adventures have included sleeping with dragon girls, horse girls, sirens, slime girls, and beast girls...

That's still considered good; Duke even saw something even more furry.

Duke: "..."

Damn, you're a monster girl enthusiast, huh?! You're a Fury enthusiast, huh?! You're a sadist, huh?!

Duke's current mood is similar to Jay Chou watching a movie and seeing a teacher who looks exactly like him. It's like he's been reborn as the male lead of an A-list movie. Moreover, the quality of these movies with him as the male lead has fluctuated. The one with Dragon Girl was top-notch, but there are many more movies with Fu Rui that are simply cringe-worthy.

Duke rubbed his temples, feeling utterly devastated. He looked at Geraint with a look of "I don't want to think about it anymore" and said reluctantly, "That's right, I am that Duke."

Seeing Duke's complicated expression, Geraint seemed to understand something and clapped his hands with a smile: "Mr. Duke, if a renowned adventurer like yourself wishes to join my territory and become a knight under my command, I will certainly give my full support!"

“You’ve misunderstood. I have no intention of serving you.” Duke shook his head, his words causing Geraint to frown. But his next sentence quickly shocked Geraint even more: “I heard you’re planning a rebellion? I’m going to help you.”

"You...you...you...how dare you! What are you saying?!"

Even if it's true, you can't just say things like that. You know, Princess Amber is right there!

Geraint's expression changed slightly. He was about to raise his hand to summon soldiers to drag this arrogant brat away and behead him, but at that moment, Amber and Anne said at the same time, "Lord Geraint (Father), are you planning a rebellion?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course not!"

Amber looked at Duke, and through a tacit exchange of glances, she understood what she should say. She then turned her head and continued, "Even with our help, isn't that enough?"

"Huh? Your Highness, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, this princess will also help you rebel."

Geraint was stunned.

Why is Your Highness plotting a rebellion?!

Chapter 166 Dream Within a Dream

Geraint certainly didn't believe that Amber truly wanted to rebel. After all, from his perspective, Princess Amber had no reason to rebel. She was deeply loved by the king, had no worries about marriage for the time being, and the throne might even fall into her hands.

The future crown prince of this country says she's going to rebel. If you were Geraint, would you believe her?

Anyway, the Duke didn't believe it at all.

Is Princess Amber testing my loyalty?

"Hahaha, Your Highness, you jest! I never had such a thought." Geraint laughed awkwardly, then waved her hand, summoning several imposing guards. "Guards! Seize this arrogant adventurer!"

Let's arrest him first. If he really is one of the princess's people, then we'll see. I'm a duke, after all, and she won't turn against me on my turf...

That's what Geraint thought, and the guards he commanded didn't think much of it either. Loyal and obedient, they thought of nothing but the Duke's orders. But just as the guards surrounded Duke, they were sent flying by the Duke's own daughter.

"Annie, what are you doing?"

The Duke was dumbfounded. He stared in astonishment at his daughter, at the pair of skeletal arms that had suddenly appeared beside her—the very same skeletal arms that had just sent the surrounding guards flying. Geraint had never known his daughter possessed such power, nor did he understand why his "beloved daughter" would do such a thing.

“Father.” Annie looked at Geraint with a half-smile. She didn’t regard the man in front of her as her father at all, because she knew that she had no parents. She was an orphan raised by the floating city. Although she had parents in her dream, she was not moved by the kinship she had never experienced before. “Didn’t you want to rebel? Why are you rebelling?”

"What are you saying, you silly girl!" Geraint exclaimed, waving his hand forcefully and shouting, "Her Highness the Princess is right here! Why are you spouting such nonsense? I..."

"Are you worried about me, Father? I'm truly touched." Anne's tone held no trace of emotion; instead, it was as if she were speaking to a stranger. Her voice grew increasingly cold, and her words made the Duke and his lady sense something was amiss. A clear killing intent emanated from her. "What a pity, Father, Mother, if you insist on being enemies with Duke, then..."

“Annie,” Duke interrupted Anne, frowning. “They’re worried about you too, aren’t they?”

“However, they are just souls fooled by dreams, not my parents at all, are they?” Anne tilted her head, her gaze softening only when she looked at Duke. When she looked at others, her gaze was no different from that when she looked at corpses. “I wouldn’t mind killing them—or rather, killing them here would be better for us. After they die, control of the duchy will fall into my hands.”

She was a complete madwoman; no matter how much her personality and behavior were embellished or beautified, it couldn't hide Anne's morbidity.

Anne's words caused the Duke and Duchess's expressions to change slightly. They could hardly believe that their daughter would say such a thing. Duke, upon hearing Anne's words, couldn't help but cover his forehead and said speechlessly, "Don't say things like that, only villains would say such things. Are you some kind of ruthless evil king?"

"Tch." Annie clicked her tongue regretfully and muttered under her breath, "It's a dream. People don't die even if they're killed. So what if I killed hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people? In essence, I didn't kill a single person..."

But for you, the fact of how many people you killed will not change, and this burden will weigh on your own heart, making it hard for you to breathe.

Hearing Annie's excuse, Duke sighed and shook his head. Instead of stating his own reasons, he firmly commanded, "In short, isn't it good to enjoy a rare moment of family affection, even in a dream?"

Annie pouted: "Oh... okay."

Finally managing to persuade Anne to back down, Duke wiped the sweat from his brow, turned to Duke Geraint, and said warmly, "Your Grace, you've probably misunderstood. We are a group of partners gathered by Amber, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing this corrupt dynasty, and we've come to sincerely invite you to join us."

“…I understand.” After all, the situation was beyond his control, not to mention that his daughter had betrayed him and joined the enemy camp, even drawing her sword against him. This fact left Geraint somewhat disheartened. He nodded helplessly: “Let me hear your thoughts, young man.”

……

Duke's heartless body collapsed to the ground, silent and motionless. His soul had vanished from his body, disappearing somewhere unknown. It could be said that this body was dead beyond any doubt.

After all, people die when they are killed. How could an ordinary human survive without a heartbeat? To be precise, when Talia ripped out his entire heart and held it in her hand, even a strong dragon would only face certain death, let alone Duke.

Talia gazed silently at the heart in her hand. Three lines of musical score, outlined in black ink, were etched upon it. Sure enough, the Soul Requiem on Duke's chest was actually engraved on his heart, not his skin. She could clearly feel the life force of the heart in her hand; the power of the Soul Requiem kept it active, allowing it to continue beating in her grasp.

"The power of the Cinderella Game still remains; indeed, a seed has been left in this Soul Requiem. Not only Cinderella, but the power of the Clothes Game and the power of Truth or Dare also remain in this Soul Requiem, though in very small amounts."

The Witch of Miracles, Scarlet, is still fighting the divine avatar she summoned. The mute lost his humanity and the ability to think rationally after becoming a god, turning into a fully automatic divine power response machine. As a newly born god, his power is limited, so he does not respond to the vast majority of prayers... except in a few cases.

For example, calling upon Him to appear and beat up the former city lord of the floating city, or calling upon Him to appear and beat up the city lord before that of the floating city.

As a pair of bickering lovers for thousands of years, even though the mute has lost his mind, once his followers oppose Lady Scarlet, as long as the offerings are prepared, the mute will almost always grant their requests and will send down an avatar to fight Lady Scarlet for three hundred rounds.

Talia only had Bugatti stop Carol and Eve, and that's why... the person who came in with Duke was Scarlet, which was exactly what she wanted!

“Hoo…” Talia let out a slow breath. “It’s time to begin.”

Immersed in her partial victory, she didn't notice that the "corpse" lying on the ground suddenly moved.

Chapter 167 An Unthinkable Path ×2

"It's Talia."

"It really is Talia."

"It shouldn't be Talia, it's someone else who looks similar."

"It should be, I just feel like the vibe is a bit different."

Duke and his group stood before the enormous statue and exclaimed in awe.

They were standing in a church of a sect called "Genesis". The style and decoration of the church were very similar to the altars that Duke and the others had seen in reality, and the beings they worshipped were also the same.

The goddess of creation... a creator who looks exactly like Talia.

In this dream world, religious power is immense, even surpassing secular forces. Geraint, Anne's adoptive father, dares to secretly amass power, waiting for an opportunity to rebel, but dares not oppose religious forces in the slightest. Within the duchy, the Genesis Cult operates like a state within a state, independent of the duchy's overall planning, and doesn't care whether Geraint truly intends to rebel, as long as it doesn't hinder their missionary work.

The Genesis sect remained unperturbed, which Duke found incomprehensible. In his view, the sect's arrogance would inevitably attract the attention of the kingdom sooner or later... until he heard from the Duke that the Genesis sect's army was as powerful as the three kingdoms combined.

How many divisions does the Pope have?

Reporting to the Father, the Pope has dozens of divisions under his command, enough to splatter your brains out.

That's fine.

The overall combat power level of this dream world is relatively low, probably because the people in this world are not very knowledgeable and cannot imagine anything in their dreams. Overall, it is a world with low magic and low martial arts. Annie, a necromancer who is close to the hero level, is enough to dominate the Duke's (who is preparing to rebel) personal guard, let alone stronger beings.

There's no need to give Duke legendary combat power; just give him a Light Treasure, and he might even dare to storm the kingdom's capital and cause a ruckus, instantly clearing Sleeping Beauty's Dream—unfortunately, we can't give it to him. Cecil is still out there doing good deeds in the floating city, and she might not even know that Duke and the others are already here.